Frequently asked questions

What is Collegewise?Collegewise is a collective of independent college counselors in offices across the country, with the same philosophy of making the college application process less stressful and more joyful. Some of us work on our own (like me), and some of us work in an office with a few other counselors. Some of us have worked in high schools, test prep companies, and admissions offices at the very colleges you’re interested in; still others worked in marketing, international affairs, and chemistry labs before shifting (or returning) to the world of college admissions.My students and families will likely only interact with me as we work through the process of applying to college. But I am a better counselor for being able to turn to my colleagues for a second opinion on a controversial essay topic, to verify a new application policy, or to consult years of collected student data to evaluate a student’s admissions chances at a particular school. This is why I call my business Colleen at Collegewise, because being a part of this collective allows me to support each of my students with the knowledge and expertise of my colleagues’ decades of experience. How much does it cost to work with you?I offer a range of services from a 1-hour meeting ($180) to the Complete Admissions Program, which covers every part of the college application process from start to finish ($5200), and many options in between. Once we’ve had a chance to meet and learn more about each other, I can make a specific recommendation for you.

Can we meet with you in-person?I initially worked with students face-to-face, but found that the in-person meetings were more of a hindrance for my Bay Area families than a benefit. Because my students are so busy with school, part-time jobs, sports, and activities (not to mention Bay Area traffic…), commuting to and from my office wasn't an efficient use of their very limited time. Skype meetings have enabled me to better support my students, to check in more frequently, and to answer questions and offer good counseling as issues come up.

What is your success rate? My students have been accepted to a wide range of schools including:​ American UniversityAuburn UniversityBoston University Butler UniversityCal Poly-San Luis Obispo CSU Long BeachCarnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University Columbia University Emerson College Fordham University Gonzaga University Lewis & Clark University Loyola Marymount University Loyola University Chicago Loyola University New Orleans The New School New York University Northeastern University Purdue University San Diego State University Saint Louis University Santa Clara University Skidmore College Syracuse University University of Arizona UCLA UC San Diego UC Santa Barbara University of Colorado – Boulder University of Michigan University of Oregon USC UT Austin University of Washington University of WyomingWashington State University Wesleyan University Whittier College Willamette University

​But that’s only the most basic way of defining success in applying to college: where did you get in? In reality, the best way of measuring success in this process is whether you’ve been accepted to a college you like, a college you can afford, and a college that will prepare you for whatever you want to do next. If any one of those things isn’t true, the others don’t matter. And if you didn’t get accepted to a school you were really hoping for, can you say that you did everything that was within your control and submitted your strongest possible application, even though it didn’t work out? This is what success means to me, and I can say that every single one of the students I’ve worked with has come out of this process with more yes’s than no’s, a number of scholarships, and a sense of empowerment about their decision for next year.

How many colleges can I apply to?As I’ve shared on my blog, my job is not to tell students and families what to do, but rather to give them all the options and help them understand the possible outcome of each choice. So technically, you can apply to however many colleges you want. But I (strongly) encourage the students I work with to apply to 8-12 schools. This comes out to a few reach schools, a few target schools, and a few safety schools.

The main reason I recommend that my students apply to a focused list of schools is that you have a finite amount of mental energy to devote to applications, activity descriptions, and supplemental essays. Every time you add another school to your list, you have to figure out their requirements for standardized tests and letters of recommendations, you have to brainstorm, write, and edit more short essays, and you have to follow up to ensure that they received your school report and transcripts. None of this is simple and much of it doesn’t replicate easily. Applying to a large number of schools means that your finite energy just gets spread across all these demands, and the quality of each item decreases. Crafting strong, thoughtful applications takes time and effort, and limiting the number of schools you apply to allows you to develop your most compelling applications possible, which directly translates to your best chance of admission.